Take Me Out to a Kosher Ball Game!
It’s still cold here in Toronto but at least the temperatures have stayed well above freezing. And if the forecast can be trusted, we may even hit the 50s next week! Even better, today was Opening Day for Major League Baseball. You know spring’s gotta be on the way.
More MLB Teams Serve Kosher Foods
I always think about attending an Opening Day game but I’ve never made it to one. This year, of course, Opening Day fell during Passover, which is a pretty busy time here at Mitzuyan Kosher Catering.
Anyway, guess what team our Blue Jays beat on the road on Opening Day this year? Hint: it’s in a bigger city than ours, with a Jewish population greater than Israel’s, and where the stadiums serve a lot of kosher food, and not just Hebrew National hotdogs. This particular place has a couple of kosher concession stands. One of them hosts davening during the seventh-inning stretch.
The Jays beat the Yankees 6 -1. Not bad, eh?
Kosher Food at Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre here in Toronto and other MLB parks now let you go out for a kosher ball game.
Olde Spadina provides kosher food inside Rogers Centre and like any kosher operation, is not open during holidays and Shabbat. But for most games, you can get kosher hot dogs, curly fries, and other ballpark favorites. Like us, it’s COR-certified. You can bring your own food into Rogers Centre, too. They have to be wrapped and bagged or brought inside a container. Drinks must be smaller than 600ml and you can’t bring alcohol inside.
Elsewhere in the MLB, check the stadium websites for specifics about bringing in your own food. Because of security concerns in the US, most stadiums require food to be in transparent baggies or wrappings.
I have to hand it to Rogers Centre, though; they do try hard to meet dietary practices and necessities. In addition to kosher dogs, they have a peanut-free seating area and vegan and gluten-free food at Muddy York Market in Section 109.
More Kosher Options Throughout MLB
I recommend that you consult the website for the stadium you plan to visit to see if it offers kosher food or allows you to bring in your own food and any inspection staff may do. What I can tell you is that in addition to Rogers Centre and Yankee Stadium, these stadiums show up in a Google search for kosher food at MLB parks:
- Citi Field, New York (Mets)
- Orioles Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore
- Nationals Park, Washington, DC
- Fenway Park, Boston (Hot Nosh vending machines)
- Marlins Park, Miami
- AT&T Park, San Francisco
I also found a site called The Great Rabbino, written by Rabbi Jeremy Fine, who loves sports. The Rabbino compiled a list of kosher fare at all MLB stadiums last year, which includes the teams above. It notes that kosher hot dogs are served at Target Field, Minneapolis, and Busch Stadium, St. Louis. The Rabbino is unsure about these sites that either are unsupervised or unconfirmed for kosher hot dogs:
- Wrigley Field, Chicago
- Progressive Field, Cleveland
- Coors Field, Denver
- Minute Maid Park, Houston
- Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
- PNC Park, Pittsburgh
- Petco Field, San Diego
- Texas Rangers Ballpark, Arlington TX
Kosher meals are provided upon request at Safeco Field in Seattle. I was fascinated to read that Tropicana Field in Tampa, FL, has a Jewish Wall of Fame but no kosher food.
One commenter said that Comerica Park in Detroit sells Hebrew National hotdogs but are not supervised and are “probably grilled on the same grille as treif.” If you travel to another stadium this year, be a mensch and drop a line to the Rabbino about its kosher status.
